A STEP BEYOND

TESTS AND ANSWERS

TEST 1

_____ 1. The orphanage matron seeks to have Joe adopted because

A. he was unhappy there
B. many people wanted to adopt him
C. he was suspected of being part black

_____ 2. The Reverend Gail Hightower is obsessed with

A. his grandfather's death
B. his invalid mother
C. Byron Bunch's relationship with Lena Grove

_____ 3. Light in August's religious extremists include

I. Eupheus Hines
II. Simon McEachern
III. Calvin Burden

A. I and II only
B. I and III only
C. I, II, and III

_____ 4. Among the characters preoccupied by race are

I. Joanna Burden
II. Eupheus Hines
III. Gail Hightower

A. I and II only
B. II and III only
C. I, II, and III

_____ 5. Faulkner's metaphor for Joe Christmas's life during the fifteen years before he arrives in Jefferson is the

A. road
B. mirror
C. street

_____ 6. Joe Christmas's character is in part formed by his encounters with

I. Lena Grove
II. Miss Atkins (the orphanage dietitian)
III. Bobbie Allen

A. I and III only
B. II and III only
C. I, II, and III

_____ 7. The town of Jefferson is hostile to

A. Byron Bunch
B. Joanna Burden
C. Lena Grove

_____ 8. One character whose relations with women seem untroubled is

A. Byron Bunch
B. Lucas Burch
C. the anonymous furniture dealer

_____ 9. Violent deaths befall

I. Hightower's wife
II. Joe Christmas
III. Hightower's grandfather

A. I and II only
B. II and III only
C. I, II, and III

_____ 10. Joanna Burden's life can be best described as

A. promiscuous
B. lonely
C. politically active

11. Is Joe Christmas a victim? If so, of what is he a victim?

12. Evaluate Faulkner's view of the relationship between the community and the individual.

13. Who do you think is the novel's central character? Why?

14. Evaluate Faulkner's view of the Christian religion in this novel.

15. Do the comic and tragic parts of Light in August merge into a unified novel? Explain.

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